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Author Martin Harris

Rock and metal have been in my existence for about 30 years and saw me go through a rapid weaning period that covered AC/DC, Maiden, Saxon, Whitesnake, Motorhead, etc from about 1982 to 1984 before shifting to thrash in the summer of 1984. At that point my only mission was to find the fastest, most violent music on the planet resulting checking out every genre in extreme music from death metal and grindcore to crust punk and hardcore all of which I still adore today and buy albums from and go see live. During the 80s I grew up in the infamous Bradford thrash scene, a time I still dearly miss such was the inventiveness and great camaraderie it held. I’m a bit of phase metaller, going from one style to another, through sheer investigation of finding something new, but always sticking with them all. I’m a total sucker for double bass and blast beats and always will be no matter what genre it comes from. I absolutely detest people that have joined the metal scene because it is trendy or their mates like it, likewise I detest people who are shallow and think this music is a fad of growing up. Most of us are extremely well educated and articulate individuals who prefer freedom of self expression than indoctrination by mass media organisations hell bent on artistic sterilisation. Much of my cash is spent on following metal and I wouldn’t change a thing about it because it is the best music scene in the world.

Sensorium – The Art Of Living (S/R)

I’ve had quite a few Israeli bands in my review pile this month from various quarters as this sextet releases a debut of ambitious power metal complete with soaring operatic vocals. I have a penchant for this scene that started… Continue Reading →

Fuck The Facts – Desire Will Rot (Noise Salvation)

These Canadian algebraic grinders have an immense discography of 60 plus releases covering splits, full lengths, EP, demos and have been carving a name for themselves over the last decade and half with some of the most ambitious and terrorizing… Continue Reading →

Battlecross – Rise To Power (Metal Blade)

The album title for this fourth full length is a bold statement but typifies a band whose learning curve has been short but hectic in drawing in new listeners. Having loosely followed the band for about four years their brand… Continue Reading →

Fallen Angels – World In Decay (Cyberdyne Records)

There are plenty of bands with the Fallen Angels moniker and this US based act favours a thrash approach with this their third album but some five years since the release of the last one called “Engines Of Oppression”. The… Continue Reading →

Ectovoid – Dark Abstraction (Hellthrasher Productions)

I must admit I was attracted to this band via their name, and in the past I’ve bought some stuff just based on a band’s name as I was anticipating some grim down tuned deathly thuggery to come my way,… Continue Reading →

Titans Eve – Chasing The Devil (S/R)

Canadian melodic thrasher Titans Eve have released a couple of albums independently so far with the last, “Life Apocalypse”, being a thoroughly enjoyable affair of modern melodic thrash with some killer hooks and riffs. Three years later and the bands… Continue Reading →

Gus G – Brand New Revolution (Century Media)

If you pay any attention to Gus G, the guy who delivers the killer axe work in Ozzy Osbourne’s band you will know that he seems to be a workaholic. His exponential creative energy has seen the guitar maestro do… Continue Reading →

Calcined – Tormenting Attractions (Great Dane Records)

For those that don’t know Calcined is scientific in origin and basically means the remains of something left behind after it has been completely and utterly burned, which is different to ash, as ash can still be burned given the… Continue Reading →

Bulletbelt – Rise Of The Banshee (Headless Horseman Records)

Any band called Bulletbelt is going to have me clamouring for their album to review immediately as I expect stripped down metal that sweats and bleeds steel. Residing in the Southern Hemisphere, namely New Zealand, this second album of raw… Continue Reading →

Powerwolf – Blessed & Possessed (Napalm)

Back in 2007 I bought Powerwolf’s second album called “Lupus Dei” an unremarkable heavy cum power metal album that I listened to and largely ignored. Fast forward to 2013 and I decided to give them another try with “Preachers Of… Continue Reading →

Prion – Uncertain Process (Comatose Music)

I suspect this Argentinean outfit chose their name based on its virus connotations rather than the bird reference but maybe due to the origin of the word from Greek meaning saw. However no matter what reason behind the moniker one… Continue Reading →

Doomed – Wrath Monolith (Solitude)

Continuing Pierre Laube’s distorted vision of doom infested death metal is his fourth release and still possesses that despairing atmosphere of utter dread. Thematically the album is similar to the last one with the cover art being a nightmarish scene… Continue Reading →

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